Howdy all,

I had a career night last Tuesday in my scratch league. My previous high series in this league was 939 (4 games). Here are the stats from this week:

Game 1:
X s81 X X X X 9/ X 9/ XXX = 227 {2-7 baby split}

Game 2:
X X 9/ X X X X X X 63 = 243 {3-6-9-10}

Game 3:
X X X X s72 X X X 9/ XX9 = 243 {2-4-10}

Game 4:
X X X X X X X X X XXX = 300

So I ended up with 1013 for the 4 game set and the 300 game was my second perfect game. I also noticed that I just missed an 800 series when I opened in the 10th frame in the second game. A mark and a good count and I shoot 80x.

The leadoff man from the opposing team shot 300 against us in the second game. It was his first and it was refreshing to see someone get emotional after shooting a perfect game. He said that it was his first after bowling for 30 years. Nice shooting Mo!

Maybe I should title this blog entry "better bowling through chemistry"? For the first time in months, I'm actually feeling halfway decent. My back has been bothering me since early summer and I finally gave in and went to the doctor. The doc sent me for an MRI and prescribed some new meds to help with the pain. Now I'm able to follow through and my swing feels a lot better. 

Game 1:
X X X 72 9- X 9/ X X X X 7 = 221

Game 2:
9/ X X X X 62 81 X X X X X = 231

Game 3:
9- 9- 8/ 72 7/ X s8- X 35 X X 9 = 145

Game 4:
X X s81 X X 9/ 9/ X X X X X = 234

Game 5:
X 9/ 71 s6- X 9/ 9/ 9/ 8/ X X 9 = 176

Game 6:
9/ 9/ X X X 9/ X 8/ 6/ X X X = 224

It was a very encouraging night for me and the guys that I crossed with were very complimentary and thought that I threw the ball very well all night. It was nice to leave the bowling alley in a good mood for a change.

Second week on the Viper and I actually threw a few games of practice on Monday night, so I was hoping to show a little improvement over the past couple of weeks. During the practice session I worked a little on changing hand positions and playing a little farther inside than I played on the PBA patterns over the summer.

Game 1:
63 8/ X 62 8/ s81 7- 9/ X 8/ 9 = 148

Game 2:
36 9- X X X 53 7/ X -8 X 7/ = 165

Game 3:
X 9- X X X X X 71 X 9/ X = 211

Game 4:
81 s52 X 9/ X X X X X 9- = 203

Game 5:
9/ X s7/ 7/ X s72 s81 X s72 9- = 151

Game 6:
X 9/ X 9/ X 9- 9/ 9/ X 8/ X = 187

1065 {148-165-211-203-151-187}

Overall I felt like I threw the ball pretty well tonight, but I still have problems with splits and converting easy spares. I'm still considering getting a plastic ball for spares, but until then I'll try to figure out how to get all of the pins down with the first ball ;)

First week on the Viper pattern and the results were pretty much the same as last week...awful. I spent the first three games trying to figure out what part of the lane to play. It seemed that no matter where I tried to play, the result was pretty much the same. I was watching the guys that I was crossing behind and noticed that they were playing around 2nd arrow and playing firm and not swinging the ball much at all. Around the 4th game I decided to give that line a try and I became a little more consistent. My teammate shot a real nice 299 game for his 4th game as well.

Game 1:
72 72 9/ 9/ 9/ -7 8/ -8 X 5/ X = 131

Game 2:
9/ 9- 9- s8- X 9/ X 62 s72 63 = 129

Game 3:
X 71 62 63 8/ 8/ 9/ 9/ 71 9- = 133

Game 4:
X X X s81 9/ X X 54 72 9- = 178

Game 5:
9/ s8- s63 s8- 7/ X X 9/ X X X9 = 191

Game 6:
X X X X 72 9/ X 9- 9- X X s6 = 198

That adds up to a robust - 240. Very frustrating evening for sure.

To sum Week #4 up in one word....frustration. I got out to a good start and then fell apart for a couple of games, found it again for a game and then right back in the dumper. I'm really not sure if it was me or the bowlers that I was following, but it surely wasn't the lanes because the guys following me absolutely tore it up. Here are the ghory details:

Game 1:
X -9 s72 X X X X 9/ X 8/ X = 206 {won high game pot}

Game 2:
72 s81 X s62 s81 X s7- 7/ X X s8 = 143

Game 3:
71 X s7/ s53 s61 63 9/ X s8- 9/ 9 = 132

Game 4:
X X 7/ X s71 7/ X X X 8/ 6 = 207

Game 5:
9/ 7/ X s81 X s71 s8- 9- 63 s6- = 123

Game 6:
X 9- s72 X 9- X 6/ X 9/ 8/ X = 163

-226 on the night (974...ouch)

Most of my splits were some variation of a 2-10 (2-10, 2-4-10, 2-4-8-10) and when I would adjust then I would go through the nose and leave some variation of a 3-6-10 or worse. Rumor has it that we're bowling on Viper for the next three weeks...so hopefully I'll be able to turn things around.